Palmerstown, Dublin

I 'm looking to buy a property in Dublin and I'm considering various areas up to the 400-410k mark.
I have looked at many properties in Crumlin and Drimnagh and I’ve read the great advice in threads advising on these locations, however I am now looking for advice on Palmerstown.
E.g. what do people think about Oakcourt or Whitethorn in Palmerstown. Are they nice areas or a bit on dodgy side?
My criteria are fairly simple, I’m looking for a 2/3-bed house with off street parking and I’m not too bothered about public transport as I drive to work.
If possible, I would like a safe and mature area with a few local shops.

In general, what do people think of Palmerstown? Also, which area out of Crumlin/Drimnagh/Palmerstown or surrounding areas do people think is the safest/best value for money?
I really appreciate any help with this.
Thanks in advance for any replies (hopefully!)

Re: Advice on Palmerstown

In Palmerstown, level of desireability is roughly:

• Old Palmerstown
• Village & Riversdale
• Woodfarm Acres (I live here)
• Oakcourt & areas across road from secondary school
• Whitethorn

So I'd prefer Oakcourt over Whitethorn. Possible pitfalls - firstly, there is an area of Oakcourt next to the green space separating Palmerstown from Ballyfermot, stay as far away from here as you can. Secondly, much of Oakcourt is bungalows - if you don't mind this though, it would seem to fit the bill.

Re: Advice on Palmerstown

I agree with Nermal on the areas of desirability. I moved into Palmerstown, on Kennelsfort Road Upr. last year, very close to the Palmerstown N4 crossroads and the latest asking prices in the area are about 540 which is a bit crazy or wishful thinking but who knows.
I've heard the same thing about Oakcoart near the green spaces, a number of houses with a lot of CCTV cameras which never looks good and there was some controversy about Whitethorn when it was built http://www.askaboutmoney.com/showthread.php?t=6191 as to where it was exactly, something about the marketing people. Maybe both those areas prices reflect the issues that have been associated with them.
As an area, I really like Palmerstown, with the old village at one end and the newer area close to Cherry Orchard, it really does offer a lot and extremely fast to get into town or onto the M50 from my own year's experience.

Brilliant information thanks to you both very much.
Can I ask your opinion of Palmers Court or Palmerstown Green?

Also, there are a couple of roads in Oakcourt that are not backing onto green areas e.g. Oakcourt Drive. I will look at these first thanks to your advice.
And I certainly don’t mind a bungalow.

i lived on oakcourt drive for 10 years and loved it. very safe road and so convenient for shops and buses etc. if i was buying, i would look at the dormer semis if any are for sale. they are the same downstairs as the detached houses across the road but have a large room upstairs. the detached ones are lovely but cant really be converted into 3 beds as their attics arent high enough. i never liked the other 3 bed type which is most common in the estate as the hall door basically opens up into the living room.

Thanks very much Eamonn.
Really appreciated.

Hi

Looking to buy soon and browsing all over the city really.How is Palmers Road? I'll be viewing soon but still good to know a bit more.Shops nearby? Schools? Kids have things to do?

Thanks

Some of the Oak estate areas of palmerstown have lanes running behind them. Some are big enough to fit a small truck. I wouldnt be happy with that - but if your back wall is high enough should be ok. Also the bungalows have very small sized bedrooms, many are single glazed, so investment there is needed. A friend lived there says was fine. But watch out for the laneways as from behind some of them you can step over in the garden as some people dump grass clippings there which form small little hills. Not good for rats though.

anyone on familiar with Palmerstown right now? I'm off to view house shortly and really not familiar with area.House is gorgeous but hope it gets dark late if not good area. In future note to self check area out first but viewings ;-)

Having lived in Palmerstown, albeit 12 years ago for two years, I still consider it the worst place I have ever lived. I'd be inclined to give it a skip................Sorry to say.

ok explain more please and would like some up to date views from people too. Just seen the house and estate and is lovely and children in the area playing football,games etc, no trouble I saw.People very friendly and gave directions etc.Where is the trouble? Is it the village area as drove through that quickly and didn't study it hugely.Going back to area for second look after w/e so would appreciate details

thanks

I know someone who has a couple of houses there, used to be let out, and has never had one minutes bother with the area or tenants. He is selling them and they are really good value - you get a lot more for your money there than in most other parts of the city. I used to know people who lived there and never any bother.

Thanks mercman. Still looking for other experiences before going for a second look.

I'd avoid the area close to/ en route to the 2 prisons (Cloverhill & Wheatfield) and the remand courthouse. Its not unknown for the passing trade i.e. friends/relatives of those inside plus the odd person released by the court, to engage in petty vandalism.

Thanks I think! Watching market at the minute as some prices are certainly going down.

I've lived in Palmerstown for the last 10 years and found it a great location both for myself and my husband in our pre-children days (when we had a social life and went into town frequently) and now that we have three young boys it's also great. There is a great community spirit in Palmerstown and the local primary schools are very good and have some of the smallest class sizes in the country (22 in my son's class) except 1st and 2nd class as they are down one teacher but after this they go back into a class size of 24. My husband is also a mentor in the local GAA club where my son plays and this has been a fantastic way for us to get involved in the community. Palmerstown has more or less all the shops you need locally plus is five minutes from Liffey Valley. There is also the local swimming pool which is a great amenity for the kids. The only negetive thing is that the pubs are dreadful (we never go out locally) and there is no where nice to eat out in the area. However having said that we often jump on the bus on a Saturday night and head into town (which takes about 15-20 minutes) or get a taxi to Lucan or Leixlip where there are excellent restaurants.

With regard to house prices I think Palmerstown is great value for money. Especially now as house prices have dropped. You can get a good 3 bed or 4 bed house for 420K (there is on of Kennelsfort Road - near the top of the road and in off the road so it's not too close to the traffic) which is in excellent condition and has the attic converted and it has dropped from 435 to 420. Promise I have nothing to do with this house but we were interested in buying it as an investment earlier in the year and dropped out. It was priced at 435 when we were looking at it so just as well we dropped out. It's on myhome.ie so might be worth a look.

Having said all that we are moving out of Palmerstown shortly to live down in Wexford (where I am originally from). I have three boys and want to be closer to family but we are planning on keeping our house in Palmerstown and renting it so that if we ever want to move back to Dublin we won't have any problem getting back into Palmerstown (we like it that much!).

Also forgot to say the community spirit is great in the area. Lots of people I know grew up in the area and bought houses there themselves (I think that says a lot) and we have fantastic neighbours.

Best of luck with what ever you decide.

Palmerstown is solid but unspectacular. It has most of the amenities you'd need (is the bowling alley still there?) but they tend to be more basic. The dual carriageway effectively split the town "village" from the residential areas and the Supervalu shopping centre effectively became the new town centre - a bit soulless in my opinion.

If I was moving there, I'd stick to the area close to the old primary school. The "order of merit" suggested by an earlier poster is spot-on.

Thank you Cor,great to hear a really positive story.All sounds good except the pub and restaurants bit. I think we could live with the restaurants bit and go into town, are the pubs "no go" areas?

we will get out again and look soon.Main thing is to convince both of us, so I might be happy but will other half? House buying always a big deal I guess.

Thank you Staples. Yes I suppose that is the compromise for cheaper houses.We'll be looking in many areas as it is definitely a buyer's market, which is scary for sellers at the moment.

I still need to familiarise myself with area, so a bit scared of some parts based on some bits of info on this thread.

culchieindub said:

are the pubs "no go" areas?

Click to expand...

More like "no wanna go" really. It's years since i was there but as I recall that the Silver Granite was as rough as a bear's..... The Palmerstown House (in the old village) is OK and that's about it.

No restaurants at all if I remember and only one dingy coffee shop in the shopping centre.

The town's main draw, IMHO, is its proximity and easy accessibility to other places (city centre, liffey valley, lucan, M50, etc)